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Macbook Microfiber Keyboard Cover / Screen Protector

Eustace

Eustace

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 9, 2008
22
0
I just ordered a new aluminum macbook and wanted to get a microfiber cloth to put over the keyboard when it's closed. The only ones I can find in the store are part of a 30 dollar set that contains a bunch of stuff I don't want/need. Anybody know a good place to get one of these?
 
Eustace said:
I just ordered a new aluminum macbook and wanted to get a microfiber cloth to put over the keyboard when it's closed. The only ones I can find in the store are part of a 30 dollar set that contains a bunch of stuff I don't want/need. Anybody know a good place to get one of these?
Click to expand...

I personally do not see any need for the screen protector/keyboard cover for the new MacBooks. I personally suggest not getting them.
 
Eustace said:
I just ordered a new aluminum macbook and wanted to get a microfiber cloth to put over the keyboard when it's closed. The only ones I can find in the store are part of a 30 dollar set that contains a bunch of stuff I don't want/need. Anybody know a good place to get one of these?
Click to expand...

WAIT!

first off, before having a knee-jerk reaction of having to buy one, pause for a second and ask yourself what REASON you have for buying one?

The "classic" reason has been, to prevent the oils (from your fingers) to transfer to the screen which can become permanent

However, with the aluminum macbook, this is a COMPLETELY moot point because of the glass panel covering the lcd screen. cleaning it doesn't require a microfiber cloth.

you are no longer cleaning an lcd screen, you're cleaning a piece of glass. it is just like a nose print on a glass window or mirror. Just wipe it off with a damp paper towel.

I instead, have gotten the moshi clearguard for the purpose of preventing crumbs from getting inbetween the keys

there's no need to waste money on outrageously overpriced accessories that serve no practical purpose. we already pay the apple tax for the design of hardware and software. no need to line the pockets of the accessory makers
 
Or just use the thin piece of foam that came between the screen and keyboard/body when you bought it.
 
uicandrew said:
WAIT!

first off, before having a knee-jerk reaction of having to buy one, pause for a second and ask yourself what REASON you have for buying one?

The "classic" reason has been, to prevent the oils (from your fingers) to transfer to the screen which can become permanent

However, with the aluminum macbook, this is a COMPLETELY moot point because of the glass panel covering the lcd screen. cleaning it doesn't require a microfiber cloth.

you are no longer cleaning an lcd screen, you're cleaning a piece of glass. it is just like a nose print on a glass window or mirror. Just wipe it off with a damp paper towel.

I instead, have gotten the moshi clearguard for the purpose of preventing crumbs from getting inbetween the keys

there's no need to waste money on outrageously overpriced accessories that serve no practical purpose. we already pay the apple tax for the design of hardware and software. no need to line the pockets of the accessory makers
Click to expand...

100% in agreement with you on this........the screens glass !!! just clean it with a clean damp cloth and dry it with a clean dry cloth.......
 
I like the shaggymac $15 and was thinking about getting one of these.. plus I don't think they're overpriced for $15, it's a nice microfiber cloth although it could be cut and made yourself for much less =)

why are you getting crumbs into the keyboard in the first place lol. do you notice the plastic over the k/b much?

*edit* I just googled the moshi clearguard and man! that looks awesome. I'm thinking about getting that now over a shaggymac lol. It looks very transparent and I guess instead of crumb worries, I can worry about spills and not getting shiny keys lol thanks for the recommendation! I'm look it.
 
uicandrew said:
WAIT!

first off, before having a knee-jerk reaction of having to buy one, pause for a second and ask yourself what REASON you have for buying one?

The "classic" reason has been, to prevent the oils (from your fingers) to transfer to the screen which can become permanent

However, with the aluminum macbook, this is a COMPLETELY moot point because of the glass panel covering the lcd screen. cleaning it doesn't require a microfiber cloth.

you are no longer cleaning an lcd screen, you're cleaning a piece of glass. it is just like a nose print on a glass window or mirror. Just wipe it off with a damp paper towel.

I instead, have gotten the moshi clearguard for the purpose of preventing crumbs from getting inbetween the keys

there's no need to waste money on outrageously overpriced accessories that serve no practical purpose. we already pay the apple tax for the design of hardware and software. no need to line the pockets of the accessory makers
Click to expand...

While I do agree with you that it is just a glass screen that you wipe off, I do appreciate the fact that I dont have to do it all the time if I have the screen protector. It just annoys me to no end having to see grease on the screen at all.
 
there is a small one that comes with is that will work if you really want something in there. Saves you some time and money.
 
yeah i just use the one that came with it. It covers the majority of the keyboard, and the track pad.
 
sk8mash said:
I just bought this of eBay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....ksid=p3907.m29&_trkparms=algo=LVI&its=I&otn=1

Its 14.5" x15.5" so big enough to cover the inside of a MacBook. Just gotta cut it to shape. Much better than paying £20 to get a shaggymac one shipped to the UK. The postage price from ShaggyMac is ridiculous, especially for just a bit of cloth...
Click to expand...

2 potential problems.

1. thickness - you know the length and width, but how about height? there are a lot of cloths out that claim to be microfiber but they seem like a very towel. If it is too thick, it may not be able to close, or even worse, damage the hinge over time. If it is strong enough to have a tag sewn onto it and sustain machine washing "time after time," it may be on the thicker side.

2. serves NO purpose - so if you put a barrier between the GLASS (not the screen itself) and keyboard, the oils will remain on the keys. by the auction's own admission, grease and oil are removed by adding a little bit of water. What makes that different from any other cloth or even a paper towel?

If you leave the oils on the keyboard long enough, they might become permanent. (i say "might" because i haven't seen keyboard wear like that since the Pismo/Lombard keyboards and it could be from oil or just plain wear and tear)

In essence, you're not correcting or even avoiding the problem, you're just enabling it. You're just putting the newspapers over the vomit/spilt milk (a la "Big Daddy"). The keyboard cover will prevent the oils from getting on the keys in the first place.
 
I did some research for you.

Your ebay "ultrasuede microfiber" cloth appears to be 1mm thick
Source: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?p=5324355

Shaggymac's cloth appears to be 0.6mm thick
Source: shaggymac's website

Radtech's Screensaverz (competing product) appear to also be 0.6mm thick
Source: radtech's website

so it appears that your ebay cloth is almost twice as thick as the commercial products.

Let us know how it turns out. If it works, then it is a great low cost alternative. I've also seen large microfiber cloths at best buy in the computer section, but that was 3-4 years ago.
 
uicandrew said:
2 potential problems.

1. thickness - you know the length and width, but how about height? there are a lot of cloths out that claim to be microfiber but they seem like a very towel. If it is too thick, it may not be able to close, or even worse, damage the hinge over time. If it is strong enough to have a tag sewn onto it and sustain machine washing "time after time," it may be on the thicker side.

2. serves NO purpose - so if you put a barrier between the GLASS (not the screen itself) and keyboard, the oils will remain on the keys. by the auction's own admission, grease and oil are removed by adding a little bit of water. What makes that different from any other cloth or even a paper towel?

If you leave the oils on the keyboard long enough, they might become permanent. (i say "might" because i haven't seen keyboard wear like that since the Pismo/Lombard keyboards and it could be from oil or just plain wear and tear)

In essence, you're not correcting or even avoiding the problem, you're just enabling it. You're just putting the newspapers over the vomit/spilt milk (a la "Big Daddy"). The keyboard cover will prevent the oils from getting on the keys in the first place.
Click to expand...

The material is the same as the shaggymac...yes possibly thicker...but it will produce the same outcome of stopping build up of oils on the screen. Its not like your gonna buy the cloth and then no longer clean the keyboard etc. It serves the purpose of keeping the screen clean. You can't say that it isn't usefull.
 
sk8mash said:
The material is the same as the shaggymac...yes possibly thicker...but it will produce the same outcome of stopping build up of oils on the screen. Its not like your gonna buy the cloth and then no longer clean the keyboard etc. It serves the purpose of keeping the screen clean. You can't say that it isn't usefull.
Click to expand...

not "possibly thicker" it IS thicker, based on the research i've linked to above.
the increased thickness could come at the expense of not being able to close properly. but, we won't find out until it comes in the mail, right?

It does not serve the purpose of keeping the screen clean. It serves the purpose of keeping the GLASS clean.

My main point of contention is that because the screen is behind the glass, you don't need anything special to clean it because all you're doing is cleaning glass, not the actual screen.

and you certainly don't need any special material to clean the plastic keys on the keyboard. while i recognize that having an extra layer on a keyboard is unnatural/bothersome, it prevents the problem of oil on the keys in the first place. the moshi clearguard is supposed to be ultra thin 0.1mm, instead of silicon keyboard protectors (supposedly 0.5mm).

Others have already remarked about it (the moshi) in a separate thread, so i won't clog up the forums with a new thread, but if i notice something different that I haven't already read before, i'll definitely post it when i get it.
 
uicandrew said:
the increased thickness could come at the expense of not being able to close properly. but, we won't find out until it comes in the mail, right?

It does not serve the purpose of keeping the screen clean. It serves the purpose of keeping the GLASS clean.

My main point of contention is that because the screen is behind the glass, you don't need anything special to clean it because all you're doing is cleaning glass, not the actual screen.
Click to expand...

That doesn't make any sense. The reason they sell cloths like these is to keep the screen clean. Wether it is the glass or not, its still the bit you look through....Yeah? I don't care if im cleaning the glass or the screen, as long as it is clean. Having a cloth between the keys and the screen is gonna keep it clean.
 
uicandrew said:
not "possibly thicker" it IS thicker, based on the research i've linked to above.
the increased thickness could come at the expense of not being able to close properly. but, we won't find out until it comes in the mail, right?

It does not serve the purpose of keeping the screen clean. It serves the purpose of keeping the GLASS clean.

My main point of contention is that because the screen is behind the glass, you don't need anything special to clean it because all you're doing is cleaning glass, not the actual screen.
Click to expand...

Oh and the "research" you did isn't necessarily even the same product. But im not going to get into a discussion about how good that bit of cloth is. I think your missing the point...
 
My point is that the actual LCD screen and glass covering are made of different materials. In the past, people were going to great lengths to damaging the screen, using cleaning solutions that didn't have ammonia or alcohol.

now that there is a glass panel, such care and precautions isn't as important anymore.

the link i had was to the same material, specifically "ultrasuede microfiber." whether it is in a shape of a square or a dog, i believe it to be the same material. i think the material is of high quality, but the thickness could be a problem.

You want to protect the glass/screen. I get it. I'm just saying that a special cloth is not necessary for glass; for a bare lcd screen, sure, but not for glass.

I use a squeegee when I wash my windshields at a gas station. I don't use a microfiber cloth because I don't need to. (an exaggerated example, but the principle is the same)
 
Are you guys constantly pressing on the back of the screen? I have never seen oils from my keyboard end up on my screen. I tried using a microfibre cloth to prevent the occurrence at one point, but ended up with dust on my screen. Since I have stopped doing this I have yet to notice any oils and the dust problem is gone.
 
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